CIBC offers reduced credit card interest rate for clients in financial hardship
Posted Apr 3, 2020 12:25 pm.
Last Updated Apr 3, 2020 12:30 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO — CIBC is offering reduced interest rates on personal credit cards for Canadians in financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bank says credit card clients who request to skip a payment and are experiencing financial difficulties will receive a temporary lower annual interest rate of 10.99 per cent.
It says for the 80,000 Canadians that have already received CIBC credit card relief, the temporary lower rate will be retroactively applied to March 15.
The move comes as the big banks have faced calls to lower interest rates on things like credit cards, which generally carry high interest rates compared with other types of borrowing, to help reduce the bills faced by Canadians.
The banks announced more than two weeks ago that they would offer mortgage payment deferrals for Canadians who may be struggling due to COVID-19.
They have also lowered their prime rates, which are used to set the amount charged for variable-rate mortgages and other variable-interest loans, as the Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate target.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 3, 2020.
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The Canadian Press
